Sandy-gram

[#1]

What were some of the worst product ideas launched in 2011? My vote for number one is the “Ashley” Push-Up Triangle bikini top with padding targeted at girls aged 8-10...

Here are some of the best of the worst products for 2011:

1.       Abercrombie & Fitch

In their spring collection for Abercrombie Kids, these numskull designers released a new line that included a padded bikini top for young girls. What’s even more amazing is that they were surprised by the barrage of angry parents across the country. Several child development experts also weighed in on the controversy. The company responded by saying the top was intended for girls 12 and older. This silly disclaimer didn’t stop the controversy and they quickly pulled the product.

2. Qwikster (Company: Netflix)

Last September, Netflix announced it was going to split its streaming services and its DVD mail service. The new DVD-by-mail was going to operate under a new website called Qwiskter. This came on the heels of a price hike that had already angered customers. To make matters worse, the two companies wouldn’t “talk” to each other meaning separate billings. In what was likened to the “New Coke” fiasco, consumers went viral and CEO Reed Hastings' apologetic blog post was mobbed by thousands of angry customers. Qwisker was killed off before it began, but not before it cost the company almost 800,000 customers.

3. Volt (Company: General Motors)

In January of 2011, GM was so excited about their new EV (electric vehicle) that they announced they were speeding up its roll-out by six months. By November, these short-lived glory days were just a memory. Only 125 models were sold last July. Although a GM spokesperson tried to spin the news saying it was “virtually sold out” due to its popularity, the comment was later deemed “misguided.” To make matters worse, Chevy Volts are now under investigation for fires involving the cars’ lithium-ion batteries.

4. Mars Needs Moms (Disney)

But apparently movie goers didn’t. After the release of the wildly successful Avatar in 2009, Hollywood assumed they had a new cash cow in 3-D movies. This flop was epic even in the speculative world of movie making. The film cost $175 million to make and brought in just $6.9 million its opening weekend. Mars lost Disney an estimated $130 million in worldwide gross sales.

6. Facebook Phone (Company: AT&T/HTC)

If you offer it, they will come. Sorry…just because it’s called a Facebook Phone doesn’t make it any more appealing than any other smart phone on the market. Is it really that difficult to get to your Facebook account that you need a unique phone to do it? In what seems to be one of the most naive statements made about a product to date, AT&T Senior VP Jeff Bradley said…

    “We can’t wait to put the HTC Status in the hands of our young customers who will waste no time tapping into Facebook to update their friends.” 

Huh?

Sales were significantly lower than the company had originally expected, and rumors that the phone would be discontinued quickly spread. Despite its low sales, AT&T has defended its product, stating, “The HTC Status is a great product and our plans for it to be part of our portfolio haven’t changed.”

5. PlayBook (Company: Research In Motion)
It was touted as one of the most anticipated consumer electronic products of 2011 and RIM’s first attempt at competing with Apple in the tablet arena. Leveraging the success of the Blackberry, they hoped it would be the businessman’s answer to the iPad. Unfortunately, the Playbook offered limited Apps (a feature Apple products are famous for…) which were critical to compete in the marketplace. Following poor sales, RIM lowered its sales targeted for the second quarter of 2011 to one-third of its original target. The company attempted to get its product off the ground with aggressive promotions, which caused it to lose $485 million in discounts on the tablet in the third quarter.

And check out some of these classic clunkers…

Coors Rocky Mountain Spring Water: 2 years

Turns out beer drinkers only want one thing from their favorite label: beer.

Cosmopolitan Yogurt: 18 months

Cosmopolitan made an interesting decision to launch a brand of yogurt in 1999. Apparently, Cosmo's readers were content enough reading the magazine.

Pepsi A.M. and Crystal: Both 1 year

In 1989, Pepsi tried to target the "breakfast cola drinker" with Pepsi a.m. It only lasted a year. In 1992, Pepsi tried again, this time with a clear cola, "Crystal Pepsi." No dice -- it died in 1993.

 

McDonald's Arch Deluxe: 1 year

In 1996, McDonald's introduced the Arch Deluxe. It was intended to appeal to "urban sophisticates" -- outside of its target demographic. To reach this group McDonald's spent $100 million, which makes it one of the most expensive product flops in history.

 

Microsoft Bob: 1 year

Microsoft Bob was supposed to be a user-friendly interface for Windows, a project that was at one point managed by Bill Gates' now wife. Microsoft killed it one year after launching it in 1995.

New Coke: 77 Days

In the early 1980s, Coke was losing ground to Pepsi. So it tried to create a product that would taste more like Pepsi. Coke abandoned the product after huge consumer backlash, a few weeks, and went back to its old formula. It also gave its product a new name: Coca-Cola Classic.

[#2]

OMG! That story about Abercrombie & Fitch is absolutely horrifying!! There is something awful about not celebrating life as one lives it and about making children adults decades before their time. I'm glad the public expressed their collective horror and got A & F to pull the product. The Qwikster development is another example of the power of the public to express their disapproval and correct corporate bonehead moves.

[#3]

The Abercrombie & Fitch bra was pretty bad, but it could be worse... a few years ago they were selling thongs for 10-year-olds with "sexy" slogans on them. Call me old-fashioned but I just find it inappropriate.